Gemstone Deposits
A deposit is define as a group of occurrences large enough to be worked (also call a mine). A find is describe as a single occurrence.
Primary deposits refer to gems found in their original location. The yield is generally low due to the fact that many tons of non-gem bearing material have to be excavate.
Secondary deposits refer to gems which have been transported by the actions of wind, rain and flowing water.
Fluvial deposits are create by rivers, marine deposits by the sea and aeolian Deposits by the wind.
The distribution of gems around the world is irregular. Gem deposits occupy only a tiny proportion of the earth’s crust. Some of the more favored regions are:
The gem-rich metamorphosed limestone’s of Upper Myanmar (including the “Mogok Stone Tract”) renowned for Rubies, Sapphires, and Spinels.
The alluvial deposits of Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand and Madagascar, and the Minas Gerais and Minas Nova’s districts of Brazil.
Mining Methods
Most gemstones are discover by accident. There is no systematic approach use for Colored Gemstones due to the lack of capital.
Exceptions being Australia, where the mining of the Sapphires is more mechanized and systematic.
Recovery is accomplish invariably by simple means without the use of modern techniques or scientific basis.
In many cases, the methods are very primitive and have remained unchanged virtually for 2,000 years.
They consist of:-
- Collecting gems from the surface, from dry river beds, or rock fissures.
- Sinking shafts into the ground sometimes up to 30ft deep.
- Panning rivers.
- Driving short tunnels into the sides of hillsides (used for mining Ruby, Sapphire in Myanmar and Emerald in Colombia).
- Open-cast mining (i.e Ammolite).
- Using powerful jets of water, when available, to loosen the gem material from the overburden.
- Digging pits in ancient river beds to reach the “Gem Gravels”, (i.e. Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand).
- Terrace mining (i.e The Chivor Mine in Colombia).
- Underground mining, which is expensive and can only be justified if a significant vein is located.